Passionate about conservation since she was a child, Kacey Fitzpatrick studied art and architecture at Stanford and architecture at Oxford University. Then she founded Avalon Enterprises, which builds green homes and businesses.

In 2007, she helped a grassroots effort that led to GreenTown Los Altos, dedicated to reducing waste and energy consumption.

Los Altos Patch: What inspired you to start GreenTown Los Altos?

Kacey Fitzpatrick: Through my company, I had been doing residential design and construction focused on green building. But after my son, Kael, was born in 2004, I felt that one house at a time wasn't making enough of a difference.

I knew that the cities surrounding Los Altos, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Moutain View, were much more proactive. I felt I could "be the change" in my hometown of Los Altos.

So a grassroots effort was born in 2007.  I met a handful of residents through the Sierra Club, and together we gathered 700 signatures on a petition in three months to demonstrate to our City Council that residents of Los Altos wanted them to prioritize the environment. We presented to the City Council in January 2008. They responded by signing the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement and agreed to do a community greenhouse gas inventory as a first step. 

Meanwhile, GreenTown Los Altos was focusing on programs, outreach and educational efforts to reduce waste, water and energy use, and vehicle trips in town. The mission of GreenTown Los Altos is to educate and inspire the people of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills to take action that will make our communities more environmentally healthy and vibrant today and for future generations.

Patch: Have Los Altans responded well to the idea?

Fitzpatrick: Los Altans have responded very well. It turns out lots of people in Los Altos care about the environment; there just was never a place to get involved or meet like-minded folks. GreenTown is a volunteer organization; our long-term success depends on engaging the community and getting more people involved.

Patch: Tell me about the grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Fitzpatrick: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation was our seed funder in 2008. Our goals and objectives of working to make our community more environmentally healthy were in line with their environmental focus and their desire to support Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, where David Packard used to live and where the foundation is based. They have been an incredibly generous, supportive and helpful.

Patch: What accomplishments are you most pleased to see since the group began?

Fitzpatrick: Over a year ago, we launched a Bike and Walk to School program, which has expanded to four local schools (Freiker at Almond, WOW at Springer, Boltage at Santa Rita and Freiker at Egan). Last year we had 22 percent of kids on average walking or rolling to school every day, up from 11 percent average biking rates before the program started. This translates to 130,000 vehicle-miles avoided.

Our co-op program is focused on helping restaurants make the switch to compostable take-out containers at a discount, and giving up styrofoam. We have about 12 restaurants involved but hope to increase that number! Your readers can help by asking restaurants to use compostables. 

The new compost collection service from our waste company for residences and businesses has GreenTown fingerprints all over it, since we provided a lot of research and community education to help when the RFP was being developed.

These are just a few of our accomplishments. We are developing an initiative to promote water conservation.

Patch: You've just stepped down as executive director; tell us more.

Fitzpatrick: Yes, at the end of July, I realized it was a good time for me to step down to restart my green design and construction business. I'm still involved in GreenTown as a volunteer, which I love. A new executive director will start in November, and I'm excited to see where GreenTown goes next. 

Patch: How can people get more involved in green issues?

Fitzpatrick: We try to make it easy for people to get involved. To donate, become a member, or volunteer, go to www.greentownlosaltos.com.